Unplanned Pregnancies In Film: A History

Surprise, I'm Pregnant! The Evolution Of Unplanned Parenthood In Movies

On July 24, Unexpected opened in limited release.The film is about a teacher who forms a friendship with her teenage student when they both unexpectedly find themselves pregnant. Starring Cobie Smulders as the teacher (and Gail Bean as her student), the indie follows the elder character's struggle to maintain her identity after she becomes a mother, including how to balance parenthood and work.

It's refreshing to see a character working out that equilibrium between career and family. As you may recall, a lot of unplanned-pregnancy movies of decades past never even consider having both as an option. Here, we take a look back at how onscreen depictions of surprise pregnancies have evolved over the years.

Note: We're not counting the 1987 classic Baby Boom on our list. Diane Keaton's character does not actually bear the bambina in question. That movie falls into the successful-person-inherits-a-child-and-learns-to-cope-but-not-before-freaking-the-eff-out canon of filmmaking.